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Monumental divide

Removing the Robert E. Lee monument is a sensitive issue for many Southerners who revere the memory of Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and other luminaries of the Confederacy.

For years, organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy have honoured the memory of prominent Confederate leaders without much controversy. Suddenly, over the past few years, Lee, for example, who was viewed as a moderate who only reluctantly decided to fight for the Confederate cause, has been demonized, hence the demands to remove monuments erected to his memory. This has upset many Southerners, not just violent racist ones, because the history of a painful period is being distorted from what they have held to be true for 100-plus years.

The Civil War was a tragic conflict; more than 600,000 Americans died, the largest number of Americans ever killed in a war. There are Southerners who feel Lincoln wasn't justified in waging war against the secessionist states, that peaceful means could have been used to resolve the slavery issue and other issues that divided North and South.

It is absolutely necessary to condemn the hateful acts by white racists. But prominent Confederate figures should not be seen strictly from a 2017 perspective. There were shades of grey in the Civil War. For example, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's rampage through Georgia could be seen as an atrocity from a modern standpoint.

Tom Healy, Gatineau, Que.

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Removing statues of historical oppressors or taking names off government buildings is hardly about sanitizing history. It's about desanitizing it. The statues or names on the various bridges, schools or government buildings in question normalize the behaviour of the people they memorialize, they sanitize the violence, oppression, racism. If that wasn't the intent, they should depict them whipping slaves or forcing children into residential schools.

We should also have statues of the people who fought back against them. But we don't. We have men on horses. We have a sanitized history, not a real one.

Melinda Munro, Windsor, Ont.

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A flexible war

Re Saudis Defend Use Of Combat Vehicles (Aug. 17): A statement by the Saudi embassy opines that "It is the right of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to use its military equipment to fight the terrorist groups …"

That's the beauty of the war on terror. Its flexibility. You can name anyone you dislike a terrorist, and kill them with impunity.

Mark Leith, Toronto

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Bravo, Ms. Gingerich

Re Music Students To Live With Seniors In Ontario University Program (Aug. 18): This story about music students living with seniors moved me in a way news articles seldom do. Having witnessed firsthand the joy experienced by my father and my wife's mother on music days in their assisted-living residences, I applaud this new program. The impact on seniors, their families, and on the participating University of Western Ontario music students themselves will be beyond measure.

I hope other music schools participate in similar programs across Canada. Bravo to Heather Gingerich for bringing the idea forward and making it a reality!

Brian Miller, Vancouver

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Script on Cancon

Re Just How 'Bold' Will Joly's Broadcasting Plan Be ? (Aug. 18): Canada produces great television shows that are popular at home and around the world. Degrassi, Orphan Black, Wynonna Earp, and the children's hit Paw Patrol are just a few examples of domestic productions succeeding globally. Another is Cardinal, which was recently sold to the BBC.

The Canadian Media Producers Association applauded the Heritage Minister's request to the CRTC to revisit rules about how much broadcasters must invest in Canadian productions. We see this as an important interim measure to maintain our strong domestic production sector while audiences, producers and broadcasters adjust to the digital shift.

The world is changing. Old funding models will become obsolete and new ones will emerge. This will involve some trial and error. Assuming the CRTC follows the minister's direction, it means the rug won't be pulled from under our industry before there is a new foundation on which to grow.

Reynolds Mastin, CEO, Canadian Media Producers Association

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Living up high

Re The Balcony Debate (Aug. 18): I live in a 38th-floor corner apartment (no balcony) at Bay and Bloor in downtown Toronto. From my apartment about two years ago, I could see more than 700 balconies (more now). One beautiful summer evening, I counted the balconies with someone on them. Result: two. I did it again on a weekend. Result: three.

David Selley, Toronto

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Re Towering Ambitions (Aug. 17): If I hear one more urban planner talk about "empty lawns" or "vacant" lands between high-rise towers, I'm going to lose it. As a 10-year tenant in High Park Village, I can tell you that the much-needed green space between towers is vibrant and alive with families and pets, day in and day out. Just the other night I sat on a bench overlooking beautiful flowers and trees, and a grassy area where kids were playing catch.

At other times, that area is filled with people who meet nightly to let their dogs mingle. The other day, a dad and his son played an impromptu game of badminton.

Retail on the ground level of existing buildings is a great idea, but not filling in green space, which is much loved and used by the communities in these tower-in-the-park neighbourhoods, as anyone who actually lives here would know.

Barbi Lazarus, Toronto

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Canada's other game

The Moment in Time salute last Monday to Toronto's lacrosse history (Crowds Flock To Lacrosse Exhibition Game, Aug. 14, 1867) may be premature in noting significant dates in Canadian lacrosse history.

About a month later, on Sept. 26, 1867, 52 delegates representing 29 clubs met in Kingston and formed the National Lacrosse Association of Canada, amended the laws of the game, adopted a constitution and promoted the development of the game in this area. (Kingston, incidentally, was chosen not only because it was halfway between two major lacrosse centres – Toronto and Montreal – but because the fiancée of organizer Dr. W. George Beers, of Montreal, was a nursing student here at the time.)

The NLAC grew the game nationally and became the Canadian Lacrosse Association, which no doubt will mark next month's 150 founding with sticks raised in salute. This Limestone City, which enthusiastically celebrates its historic hockey anniversaries, joins in the applause for the valiant supporters of Canada's other national winter game.

J.W. (Bill) Fitsell, Kingston

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